Beach-Blog-Brazil: New school and new friendships (2011)

After being in Rio for over three months, Jasmine and Rory were keen to start their new school and make lots of new friends.

They were so excited about wearing their new smart school uniforms. Especially Rory, as he was now matched his big sister.

Check out the PE kit ...

Good luck on your first day!

It wasn´t long before the birthday party invites came along. This is when the children really got to have some fun with each other and began to experience a whole new meaning to a ´kids birthday party´ ...

As new friendships were being formed, the play dates followed ...

During the school year there were many special events;

Festas juninas - This is a big celebration in Brazil which begins in June and finishes in July. The festival was brought to Brazil by Portuguese and Spanish settlers celebrating the harvest and their favorite saints. Children dress as country bumpkins, play games, win prizes, and the adults dance and drink.

End of term celebration in pre-nursery - parents were invited to see some of the work the children had been doing and to have lunch with their children.

Presentations - At the end of the academic year both Jasmine and Rory took part in their first ever class presentation (assembly). It was a very special moment for them and us. They were both very brave and seemed to love every minute of it.

... looks like Rory was pretty pleased that his Nanna and Bobbie were here to see him in his presentation too.

Celebrating Diwali - The reception classes also learnt about the festival Diwali during their ´Celebration´ topic. The school kindly invited me in to share the story of Rama & Sita. Jasmine was very proud and excited to be going into school wearing her indian clothes.

Sarafi art week - At the end of this special themed week, the children had the opportunity to dress up as something related to the sarafi. Rory considered his tiger outfit, but decided on a more comfortable option ...